Thrasher v. Winand

This personal-injury appeal turns on the question whether the plaintiff was, at the time of his injury, accepting the benefits of the charitable activities of the defendant, a charitable organization, thus giving rise to the defense of charitable immunity.

Stephen Lee Thrasher, the plaintiff, was a resident of Botetourt County, near the town of Buchanan. In 1984, he became a member of a club called “Purgatory Four Wheelers” (Purgatory) which was comprised of owners of four-wheel-drive trucks. Thrasher was an active member of that organization at the time of his injury.

In 1984, a group of…